Will also leave Canada today for Saudi Arabia

A Saudi Arabian man, who said he tried to choke his daughter as a means of disciplining her, will be leaving on a plane today to go back to his home country.

Khalaf Alshaek was sentenced to time served and one year of probation today in provincial court in St. John's.

As part of his penalty, the 56-year-old agreed to leave the country. Conditions of his probation also include that he have no contact or communication, either directly or indirectly, with his daughter and her Newfoundland-born husband.

Alshaek had pleaded guilty to assaulting his 30-year-old daughter and uttering threats to kill her.

He was arrested Thursday night after a violent outburst, sparked when his daughter told him she wanted to marry a man from this province.

It began at Ches‚Äôs Fish ‚Äôn‚Äô Chips restaurant on Freshwater Road in St. John‚Äôs, where Alshaek, his daughter and the man went together.

When the woman asked her father for approval to marry the man, Alshaek became angry and left.

What Alshaek didn‚Äôt know was that his daughter and the man had secretly wed three days before. According to the facts of the case, read in court during his sentencing hearing Monday, the woman was too fearful of her father to admit they were married.

Shortly after that incident at Ches‚Äôs, the family went to a house on Lemarchant Road, where they had been staying. Once there, Alshaek attacked his daughter three times, wrapping his hands around her neck. Alshaek believed his daughter, who had always been quiet and shy, was being disobedient.

The woman, who was left with marks on her neck, feared her father would kill her. She managed to text her husband to call police, who took her father into custody.

When he testified at the hearing, Alshaek told the judge that such actions are ‚Äúan acceptable form of discipline‚ÄĚ in his country.

He insisted he meant no harm to the woman. Instead, he was trying to prevent her from making a mistake and shaming the family by marrying a man without their consent.

‚ÄúI didn‚Äôt mean to hurt her,‚ÄĚ he said.

‚ÄúI did it out of love. My heart was in my hands.‚ÄĚ

The man ‚ÄĒ who has lived in St. John‚Äôs for the past three years ‚ÄĒ spoke with the help of a translator.

He said if he had known his daughter was already married, he would not have reacted the way he did. His actions were an attempt to try and prevent her from making a mistake, he said.

He said in Saudi Arabia, it‚Äôs the parents‚Äô responsibility to discipline their children if they see them doing anything inappropriate.

‚ÄúIt‚Äôs the duty of a parent,‚ÄĚ Alshaek said, through the translator.

Crown prosecutor Danny Murphy had recommended a three-month jail term for Alshaek, with a year‚Äôs probation.

Defence lawyer Rosellen Sullivan had explained to the judge that Alshaek came to St. John‚Äôs ‚ÄĒ with his wife and some of his 10 children ‚ÄĒ to be a chaperone for his daughter, who is attending Memorial University on a scholarship.

She said what his daughter did was considered disrespectful in his country and that his actions were meant as a preventative measure.

She said Alshaek has the support of the Saudi Arabian government, which provided Alshaek's plane tickets for him and his family.

Alshaek was once again emotional before proceedings today.

Judge Jim Walsh pointed out that, "the conviction will serve to protect the public in the future," as it will flag Alshaek if he tries to get back into the country.

As a condition of Alshaek leaving the country, the judge insisted that a representative from the embassy be present in court to ensure he is escorted personally back to Saudi Arabia.

A representative was in court today, assuring he would escort Alshaek part of the way and that another representative would be with him for the rest of the three-day trip.

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Sami

March 28, 2014 - 06:55

That's what called clash of cultures. I'm not saying what he did is right but I'm saying what his daughter did is wrong. He left everything in his country to be with her to finish her study and then she got married without telling her family...

It was recommended by the Crown that he serve 3 months and then be escorted out of the country. He will have a very difficult time re-entering Canada in the future. But, if he is bent on having his 'honour' restored, nothing will stop any males from his family from doing the families bidding.

So the guy got banishment? Since when do we use banishment as punishment. There should have been jail time. He's lucky that this didn't end up like cases in other parts of Canada where the father killed the daughter to protect the family's 'honor'.

Not sure I like the logic behind the sentence. Had the accused not been a foreign national - subject to deportation - no doubt he would have received a custodial sentence, which it certainly merits. Yes shipping him out saves the taxpayers the cost of incarcerating him, but does it also send the wrong message. Does it say, for example, that the worst that can happen to you as long as you don't murder someone is that you get sent home? And are we perchance suggesting that the offence was less serious because the accused was operating under some primitive code of conduct? And finally, are we contributing in some way to what is already a pervasive problem in the home region of the accused by shipping him out without suitable punishment in the jurisdiction in which he committed the offence? I know it will not be a popular sentiment (although I would think that organizations committed to the protection of women might give it some thought), but I believe six months in the pen followed by deportation offers a better prospect of rehabilitation. It might also afford more protection for his immediate family and the women and children in the environment to which he will be returning. As it stands now, he has had a slap on the wrist and is now returning in full-blown ignorance to a hero's welcome.

I think he should have had a little time in jail simply because of nature of the act and his intentions. The Crown had a more reasonable position than what was ruled. Either way, this man will be out of our country and away from his daughter who must be heartbroken. Beliefs or not, that is a terrible loss for a young woman.

I think he should have had a little time in jail simply because of nature of the act and his intentions. The Crown had a more reasonable position than what was ruled. Either way, this man will be out of our country and away from his daughter who must be heartbroken. Beliefs or not, that is a terrible loss for a young woman.

I think he should have had a little time in jail simply because of nature of the act and his intentions. The Crown had a more reasonable position than what was ruled. Either way, this man will be out of our country and away from his daughter who must be heartbroken. Beliefs or not, that is a terrible loss for a young woman.